The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 197 New Year
At times like these, the Prime Minister's residence would be busy from noon until evening.

As the setting sun shone on the Prime Minister's residence, Fusu was still reviewing documents from various counties in Guanzhong.

Distinguishing between good and bad performance in evaluations is actually quite simple, but we shouldn't make sweeping generalizations. Some people may not be performing well in the short term, but that doesn't mean they're bad in other areas.

Officials should be fully utilized; even if they are not good at writing documents, they can still stand at the gate as gatekeepers.

As long as he is a person, he is not useless to Fusu.

The nights are cold after autumn begins.

Feeling the chill, Fusu realized that night was approaching and then left the Prime Minister's residence.

It was dark when they arrived at Takasen-gyu Palace. To the people in the palace, the young master's life was very simple, almost too simple.

For Fusu, it was simply a matter of life and work; even the princes of Qin had jobs.

Guanzhong region enjoyed several consecutive days of sunny weather.

After half a month of peaceful life, Guanzhong welcomed its first snow.

In the winter of the thirty-fifth year of the First Emperor's reign, Fusu accompanied his father, the emperor, on the city wall of Xianyang.

He walked quietly in the snow, half a step behind his father.

Ying Zheng coughed twice and said, "Xia Wuqie has a good friend, the Grand Astrologer Hu Wujing, who has not attended court meetings for many years. I heard that he has recently fallen seriously ill. Go and see him on my behalf."

"My son, take your orders."

After speaking, Fusu saw his father stop and look north, seemingly lost in thought. He bowed and left.

Fusu first returned to Gaoquan Palace, and then had Tian An lead the way to see the Grand Astrologer.

The Grand Astrologer's residence was located in a very remote area west of Xianyang.

Fusu asked Tian An to knock on the door, and an old woman with gray hair opened it.

Tian Anxian exchanged a few words with the other party. When the old woman learned that it was Prince Fusu who had come, she wiped away her tears and bowed.

It wasn't until Fusu looked out from inside the door that he saw young people wearing mourning clothes and their weeping family members.

Tian An asked a few more questions before he learned that the Grand Historian had passed away.

He passed away an hour ago.

Fusu could only enter the other party's house, pay his respects to the body, and then stand in the other party's courtyard to observe the funeral.

The funeral was very simple, as the Grand Historian usually lived a secluded life and had few friends, so the funeral was conducted in a very simple manner.

Fusu watched as the other party's family saw off the Grand Historian and instructed Tian An to send the news to the palace immediately so that his father, the Emperor, would know.

Hu Wujing is a very rare compound surname. This person wrote the "Boxue Pian" (博学篇), which was a model for learning to write small seal script, and standardized the writing system and cart tracks of Qin.

During Li Si's tenure as prime minister, Hu Wujing, Li Si, and the emperor jointly developed the script of Qin, which led to the creation of the Small Seal script.

The Grand Historian was a position in charge of writing and literature.

“Young master, this is what he wanted to give to the emperor before he left.”

Fusu took a bronze object from the old woman; the object resembled a compass.

Actually, this is a bronze gnomon, which people use today to measure the projection of sunlight.

The old woman said again, "Young master, please take all the books here with you; they were all left behind by him."

Fusu nodded, without refusing.

Tian An had people load all the old bamboo slips onto carts and then send them to Gaoquan Palace.

On the morning of the second day after the Grand Historian's funeral, several families came to pay their respects.

Fusu met a young man named Sima Xi.

Sima Xi was a descendant of Sima Jin, a general of the Qin state.

Sima Jin was also a direct participant in the Battle of Changping.

Fusu met the wife of the Grand Historian again, and she gave two scrolls of books to Sima Xi, which was also the Grand Historian's instruction before his death.

Sometimes, while living deep within the palace, Fusu was unaware of how the descendants of these ministers who had served the Qin state lived, or about their interpersonal relationships.

It was only after so many years that Fusu realized that in this vast city of Xianyang, there were some inconspicuous interpersonal relationships that he had always overlooked.

Because Sima Xi's ancestor, Sima Jin, had once taken care of the Grand Historian Hu Wujing.

Before Hu Wujing passed away, he repaid the Sima family for their kindness.

The Sima family had reached the generation of Sima Xi.

Fusu watched as Sima Xi respectfully accepted the scroll.

It seemed to be a kind of inheritance; Fusu could clearly sense that the two volumes that Sima Xi had obtained were extremely important.

Moreover, Fusu knew that in the future, Sima Xi would have a grandson named Sima Qian.

Perhaps this tradition continued into the Sima family, where the position of Grand Historian was preserved.

Sima Qian, the grandson of Sima Xi, would become the Grand Historian, known in history as the Grand Historian.

Sima Xi is currently a boy the same age as his son Heng.

Fusu did not disturb the child, but only glanced at him from afar. After all, the Qin Dynasty did not yet have Sima Qian or Dong Zhongshu.

It wasn't until nightfall that Fusu left the Grand Astrologer.

After returning to Gaoquan Palace, Fusu rested for a night.

The following day, no court meeting was held, in order to offer condolences to the Grand Astrologer.

Having neglected state affairs for a day, when Fusu returned to the Prime Minister's residence, he indeed found a pile of documents that had not yet been processed.

This winter was unusually peaceful due to the passing of the Grand Historian, and Fusu continued to handle many state affairs.

Recently, Chancellor Li Si has been concerned about military affairs on the northern and southern borders, frequently inquiring about them and urging military reports.

Winter days are neither particularly busy nor particularly busy. Heng returned again, and as soon as his son arrived at Gaoquan Palace, he complained of being hungry. He sat down and ate non-stop until his stomach was completely full.

The lady packed all the newly made clothes into a bundle and told Gongzi Heng to take them away, as if she were herding a child.

The people in the palace covered their mouths and chuckled. After the New Year, the young master would be nine years old, the age when he was most mischievous.

Several palace maids and eunuchs gathered together, whispering among themselves.

Someone whispered, "Madam said she gets annoyed just seeing the young master; all he does when he gets back is eat."

Everyone still remembered the scene of the young master holding a bowl and putting meat and noodles into his mouth, the whole table was messy, he ate so much.

Young Master Heng stayed at home for an hour before leaving, but he left with new clothes and a smile on his face.

It was still snowing outside, but the lady still had a smile on her face as she tidied up the furniture.

In front of the young master, the lady was a strict mother, but behind his back, she was still very happy.

At that moment, Grand Attendant Tian An was wiping the dishes and chopsticks, washing the pots and cleaning the stove.

Tian An wore a proud smile, as if he had won a victory.

The winter passed peacefully like that.

In the Imperial Temple in the first month of the new year in the thirty-sixth year of the First Emperor's reign.

If his great-grandfather were still alive, Fusu would love to take him to see Gaoquan Palace, so that he would know that the Qin Palace is no longer as cold and impersonal as it used to be.

But my great-grandfather passed away eventually, leaving behind only a memorial tablet.

Fusu arrived at the Ji Temple in Xianyang Palace, where the memorial tablets of the Qin kings and the royal family of Qin throughout the ages were kept.

The memorial tablets were sparse, numbering only a few dozen.

In fact, there should have been even more memorial tablets in the Imperial Temple, but due to the intense power struggles within the Qin royal family, many people did not even have a memorial tablet after they died.

Conversely, the memorial tablets remaining in this temple are those of the victors who survived the power struggles among the royal family.

This temple embodies the cruelty and coldness of the Qin Dynasty's path to the throne.

This was also what my great-grandfather was worried about: the Qin royal family could no longer kill each other.

Fusu looked at his great-grandfather's memorial tablet and bowed once more.

Ying Zheng stood outside the temple, watching the rain pouring down from the eaves.

"Fusu."

"My son is here."

"Go to Yongcheng on my behalf to offer sacrifices to our ancestors."

"My son, take your orders."

The next day, in the early morning, Tian An stood in front of the palace gate and complained that the weather in Guanzhong was getting worse and worse. It rained yesterday and it was sleeting today.

Tian An muttered to himself, "Why doesn't this damned heaven just rain down the heads of the Huns?"

Tian An's dreams were always simple. He was an old man who was as simple as could be. He used his own way to say the harshest things to his enemies.

The guards outside had prepared the carriage, and this time it would be escorted by Grand Commandant Wang himself.

Fusu felt that he didn't need such a grand procession to pay respects to his ancestors, but his father-in-law was always arrogant, and no one in the army dared to persuade him otherwise.

Besides, he's his own father-in-law.

Now, Wang Ben is holding his little grandson and laughing heartily.

Li reached out to push away the large face and the prickly beard on his face.

"Haha!" Wang Ben laughed loudly, "You'll grow too."

With a long face, Li stretched out his arms towards him, and Fusu had no choice but to take the child from his father-in-law's arms.

Fusu said, "If this child starts crying, it will never stop."

Wang Ben still had a smile on his face. Seeing that the luggage had been moved, he began to direct the team.

After the Emperor made the arrangements, the news reached the Grand Commandant's ears last night, and the Grand Commandant came to the city gate to take the initiative to guard it.

We're all family, one more person won't make a difference.

Before leaving, Tian An carefully inspected the carriage and confirmed the number of guards. The group did not set off until noon.

Whether it's food or traveling, Tian An is always like this.

Grandma Wang could hardly stand it anymore; she felt that Tian An was always busy with trivial matters.

At these times, Tian An would ignore the other person's gaze and continue driving the carriage.

The weather is still cold.

Along the riverbank in Jingyang County, Xiao He, following the orders of Xianyang, planted trees on both sides of the Baiqu Canal.

Saplings were planted along the riverbank, and the selected saplings were relatively easy to grow, such as mulberry or jujube trees.

There were also some trees that Xiao He didn't recognize, trees unique to Guanzhong.

The rows of saplings planted along the riverbank looked quite pleasing.

“County Magistrate Xiao, news has come from Xianyang that Prince Fusu has left Xianyang for Yongcheng.”

Wu Bo sighed, "In the past, if you were going to Yongcheng, you would have passed through Jingyang, but now that we have the Xianyang Bridge, you don't need to go through here anymore."

“Oh, right.” Wu Bo remembered something else. He said, “The emperor hasn’t performed the agricultural ceremony this year. Maybe after you go to worship your ancestors, he will perform the ceremony. Our place is only a few miles away from the place where the ceremony was performed in previous years.”

Xiao He was still inspecting the newly planted saplings along the Baiqu Canal. He said, "By next year, these saplings will be much bigger."

Seeing the other party's indifference, Wu Bo asked again, "Does Magistrate Xiao not want to see the young master?"

Xiao He stood up, brushed the mud off his hands, and said, "I've wanted to see Prince Fusu for a long time."

(End of this chapter)